A car insurance policy is something that one should ideally renew on time. However, people tend to forget this and end up missing out on the due date. As a result, thousands of people end up having an expired car insurance policy. So, what exactly are you supposed to do if this happens to you?
To start with, you need to stop driving the car without a valid car insurance policy. It is simply because if anything happens to you or your car during this time, you will have to pay for the damages out of your own pocket. More importantly, you need to renew the policy as soon as possible.
Through this comprehensive guide, we are trying to help you understand the major disadvantages of having an expired car insurance policy and how to come out of such a situation.
What Happens When You do not Renew Your Car Insurance Policy?
With an expired car insurance policy, you will have to face the brunt of several disadvantages. They are:
- Legal violation – If you are caught driving your car without a valid car insurance policy, it will be counted as a legal offence. For the first offence, you will either be charged with a fine of INR 2000 or jail imprisonment of 3 months. For the second offence, the fine increases to INR 4000 but the jail term remains the same. Just like what happened once with Rohan when he forgot to renew his lapsed car insurance policy and got caught. He did pay a heavy fine for breaking the law. Soon after this incident, he became very vigilant and now always renew his car insurance policy before time.
These fines are based on the recently amended Motor Vehicles Act, 2019.
- Loss of coverage – The coverage automatically stops when the policy expires. During the event of a mishap, the policyholder will have to pay for the charges out of his/her pocket. No insurance company will pay for the loss or damage, since you hold a lapsed policy.
- Loss of accumulated no claim discount – An NCB (No-Claim Bonus) is something that every policyholder looks forward to, after completing the first year of the policy. However, if your expired car insurance policy is not renewed within 90 days, you will not be able to reap the benefits of this bonus.
- Higher premiums – Along with the NCB, the car insurance company cuts other discounts if you have a lapsed policy. This directly results in paying higher premiums.
All these reasons just show you how problematic it can get if your car insurance policy expires. It is not at all an economically viable option. Like anyone else, you too would want to save money on paying premiums, and the best way to do so is to ensure your policies are renewed on time.
Now that you know the serious disadvantages of not renewing an expired car insurance policy on time, let us help you understand how to do it.
How to Renew an Expired Car Insurance Policy?
You can renew your expired car insurance policy either through your agent or simply through an online platform. Taking the route of an agent can take a lot of time and this is where the online process is much quicker.
Here are the few basic steps which you need to follow to renew your expired car insurance policy online.
- You can either continue your alliance with the existing car insurance company or look for a new company. For this, you can seek help from websites that compare car insurances in detail.
- Once you are done selecting the right insurance company, you now need to select the type of car insurance policy that you would want. The two available options here are that of a comprehensive car insurance policy and a third-party car insurance policy. You also need to specify if it is a private car or commercial car.
- Next, you need to fill in the required details and submit the soft copies of all the necessary documents.
- You then need to identify the add-ons that you would want along with the car insurance policy you are buying. Engine protection, NCB and Roadside Assistance Support are some of the popular add-ons you can include in the plan.
- Then, make the payment. As soon as the insurance service provider receives it, you will get a confirmation mail about the renewal of your expired car insurance policy.
Points to Remember Before Renewal
- Since you have an expired car insurance policy, your car will have to undergo inspection once again. For this, you need to contact the insurance service provider, upon which they will send a team to inspect the vehicle. Once you make the payment for this, you can renew the car insurance policy online.
- If you are to save your accumulated claim bonus, then you will have to renew the policy within 90 days.
Tips to not Miss Out on Renewals
Since there have been several cases of users forgetting about the renewal, car insurance companies have come up with a simple solution – SMS Alerts. You can avail this service for a nominal fee. Some companies have the provision of sending you a mail or even giving a call to remind you about the due date. If not this, you can personally set reminders on your smartphone to not miss the due date.
In conclusion, we would like to remind you that you should be careful about renewing your car insurance policy before the due date. However, even if you forget, make sure that you renew it within 90 days to not lose out on the possible financial benefits.
